Video providing system, video providing method, and video providing program

ABSTRACT

A video providing system includes a predetermined space surrounded by surfaces with a single color; a video display apparatus mounted on the head of a user, and including two imaging devices disposed to be separated from each other by a gap corresponding to both of human eyes and perform imaging in a front direction of the user when the user wears the video display apparatus; and a specifying device that specifies a position and a direction of the video display apparatus in the predetermined space, wherein the video display apparatus displays a video prepared in advance at a location where the single color is imaged by the two imaging devices, and displays a video based on videos captured by the two imaging devices at a location where the single color is not imaged, according to a direction and a position in the predetermined space.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates to a display apparatus and the like used in anentertainment facility and the like.

BACKGROUND

There are amusement parks with various entertainment facilities enjoyedby many users. Such entertainment facilities include, for example, aroller coaster, a merry-go-round, and a haunted house.

JP 2016-048301 A discloses an electronic apparatus that can be used insuch entertainment facilities.

In such an entertainment facility, a display apparatus may be mounted onthe head of a user, and the user may enjoy the entertainment facility.However, in that case, there is a problem in that it is difficult for auser to enjoy the entertainment facility together with another user, forexample, a friend. This is because a display apparatus is mounted on thehead of the user, and it is difficult to recognize the friend in thisstate.

It could therefore be helpful to provide a display apparatus thatenables a user to enjoy an entertainment facility together with otherusers in the entertainment facility enjoyed in a state in which thedisplay apparatus is mounted on the head of the user.

SUMMARY

I provide a video providing system including a predetermined spacesurrounded by surfaces with a single color; a video display apparatusthat is mounted on the head of a user and is used, and includes twoimaging devices which are disposed to be separated from each other by agap corresponding to both of the human eyes and perform imaging in afront direction of the user when the user wears the video displayapparatus; and a specifying device that specifies a position and adirection of the video display apparatus in the predetermined space, inwhich the video display apparatus displays a video prepared in advanceat a location where the single color is imaged by the two imagingdevices, and displays a video based on videos captured by the twoimaging devices at a location where the single color is not imaged,according to a direction and a position in the predetermined space.

I also provide a video providing method of providing a video to a videodisplay apparatus which is mounted on the head of a user and is used ina predetermined space surrounded by surfaces with a single color, andincludes two imaging devices which are disposed to be separated fromeach other by a gap corresponding to both of the human eyes and captureimages in a front direction of the user when the user wears the videodisplay apparatus, the method including a specifying step of specifyinga position and a direction of the video display apparatus in thepredetermined space; an imaging step of performing imaging in a frontdirection of the user with the two imaging devices; and a display stepof displaying a video prepared in advance at a location where the singlecolor is imaged by the two imaging devices, and displaying a video basedon videos captured by the two imaging devices at a location where thesingle color is not imaged.

I further provide a video providing program for a video providing systemproviding a video to a video display apparatus which is mounted on thehead of a user and is used in a predetermined space surrounded bysurfaces with a single color, and includes two imaging devices which aredisposed to be separated from each other by a gap corresponding to bothof the human eyes and capture images in a front direction of the userwhen the user wears the video display apparatus, the program causing acomputer to realize a specifying function of specifying a position and adirection of the video display apparatus in the predetermined space; animaging function of performing imaging in a front direction of the userwith the two imaging devices; and a display function of displaying avideo prepared in advance at a location where the single color is imagedby the two imaging devices, and displaying a video based on videoscaptured by the two imaging devices at a location where the single coloris not imaged.

The video providing system may further include a calculation unit thatcalculates a distance to an imaged object other than the single color onthe basis of videos captured by the two imaging devices; and a videogeneration unit that generates a stereoscopic video according to thedistance calculated by the calculation unit, and the video displayapparatus may display the stereoscopic video generated by the videogeneration unit.

In the video providing system, the video generation unit may generate avideo in which a differing object which is different from the object issuperimposed on the object on the basis of the distance calculated bythe calculation unit.

The video providing system may further include a holding tool thatapplies an effect to a video displayed on the video display apparatus,and is held by a user, and the video generation unit may generate astereoscopic video to which the effect is applied according to aposition and a direction of the holding tool.

The display apparatus may include an imaging unit, and, when an objectother than the background in a predetermined space having the backgroundwith a single color, for example, another user is imaged, a capturedvideo of another user can be processed and displayed, and thus it ispossible to enjoy an entertainment facility together with another user.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configurationexample of a display apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating an example of an entertainmentfacility.

FIG. 3 is a plan view illustrating an example of an entertainmentfacility.

FIG. 4 is a data conceptual diagram illustrating a data configurationexample of a number-of-times table.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the displayapparatus.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the displayapparatus.

FIGS. 7(a) and 7(b) illustrate screen examples displayed on the displayapparatus.

FIG. 8(a) illustrates an image example before being processed, and FIG.8(b) illustrates an image example after being processed.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view illustrating an example of an entertainmentfacility.

FIG. 10 is an exterior diagram illustrating an example of an exterior ofthe display apparatus.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an operation example of the displayapparatus.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of anentertainment system.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of thedisplay apparatus.

DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE NUMERALS AND SIGNS

-   100 DISPLAY APPARATUS-   110 DISPLAY UNIT-   120 POSITION INFORMATION ACQUISITION UNIT-   130 IMAGING UNIT-   140 STORAGE UNIT-   150 CONTROL UNIT-   151 SETTING UNIT-   152 PROCESSING UNIT-   153 COUNTING UNIT-   154 GENERATION UNIT-   160 BUS-   170 COMMUNICATION UNIT-   200 ENTERTAINMENT FACILITY-   201, 202, 203, 204, AND 205 DOOR-   900 DISPLAY APPARATUS-   910 MANAGEMENT APPARATUS-   920 COMMUNICATION UNIT-   940 STORAGE UNIT-   950 CONTROL UNIT

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Hereinafter, a display apparatus according to a representative examplewill be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

Example 1

Configuration

A display apparatus 100 is an apparatus used in an entertainmentfacility 200, and worn by a user 20 to display a video. The displayapparatus 100 includes at least a position information acquisition unit120 and a display unit 110.

The position information acquisition unit 120 acquires positioninformation indicating a position of the display apparatus in theentertainment facility. The position information acquisition unit 120may specify a position by using, for example, an inside-out method ofspecifying a position or an attitude by scanning a surroundingenvironment with a camera or an infrared sensor attached to a headmounted display, or an outside-in method of acquiring a position or anattitude of a marker or a head mounted display by using a camera or aninfrared irradiation device installed on a ceiling or a wall of a room.In addition to infrared rays, for example, position tracking using aradio frequency (RF)-based communication method using an ultra-wideband(UWB) may be employed. The position information acquisition unit 120 maybe realized by a positioning system using, for example, a GPS, or mayreceive a beacon emitted from a beacon generator provided in theentertainment facility and acquire a position of the beacon generatorincluded in the beacon as position information of the display apparatus.

The display unit 110 displays different videos whenever a user passesthrough a predetermined region included in the entertainment facility.Regarding the predetermined region, when the entertainment facility isformed of a plurality of rooms or the like, one or more rooms may be thepredetermined region, and one of a plurality of regions into which theentertainment facility is virtually divided may be the predeterminedregion. Different videos are provided whenever a user passes through thepredetermined region, and thus it is possible to provide the displayapparatus 100 used in the entertainment facility enjoyed by the userseveral times.

Hereinafter, the display apparatus 100 will be described more in detail.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of thedisplay apparatus 100. FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating anexample of the entertainment facility 200 in which the display apparatus100 is used, and FIG. 3 is a plan view of the entertainment facility200.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the display apparatus 100 includes the displayunit 110, the position information acquisition unit 120, an imaging unit130, a storage unit 140, and a control unit 150. The display apparatus100 is mounted on the head of the user 20 and is used, and is anapparatus called, generally, a head mounted display. The displayapparatus 100 may be a wearable glasses type apparatus. As illustratedin FIG. 1, the display unit 110, the position information acquisitionunit 120, the imaging unit 130, the storage unit 140, and the controlunit 150 are connected to each other via a bus 160.

The display unit 110 is a display provided in the display apparatus 100,and displays a video delivered from the control unit 150. The user 20enjoys the entertainment facility 200 on the basis of the videodisplayed on the display apparatus 100. The display apparatus 100 isconfigured to cover the peripheries of the eyes of the user 20, and thusthe user 20 is in a state of being able to visually recognize only avideo displayed on the display apparatus 100.

The position information acquisition unit 120 has a function ofacquiring position information indicating the current position of thedisplay apparatus 100. The position information acquisition unit 120specifies a position by using, for example, an inside-out method ofspecifying a position or an attitude by scanning a surroundingenvironment with a camera or an infrared sensor attached to a headmounted display, or an outside-in method of acquiring a position or anattitude of a marker or a head mounted display by using a camera or aninfrared irradiation device installed on a ceiling or a wall of a room.Alternatively, the position information acquisition unit 120 may acquirea position or an attitude of the head mounted display by using, forexample, a GPS or an internal sensor. The position informationacquisition unit 120 detects a position coordinate of the displayapparatus 100 and an inclination (rotation information in three axes)thereof in the entertainment facility as position information, anddelivers the position information to the control unit 150.

The imaging unit 130 is a camera that captures an image of the outsideof the display apparatus 100, that is, the front side of the displayapparatus 100 in a front direction of the user when the user 20 wearsthe display apparatus. The imaging unit 130 normally captures an imageof the outside when the display apparatus 100 is driven.

The storage unit 140 is a storage medium having a function of storingvarious program and data required for an operation of the displayapparatus 100. The storage unit 140 may be implemented by, for example,a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), or a flash memory.The storage unit 140 stores a number-of-times table 400 indicating thenumber of times for which a user has passed through each of a pluralityof regions forming the entertainment facility, setting information for auser using the display apparatus 100, information indicating apositional range of each region forming the entertainment facility 200,various pieces of video data displayed on the display apparatus 100 orvideo data as sources thereof, and the like. Details of thenumber-of-times table 400 will be described later.

The control unit 150 is a processor having a function of executing thevarious programs stored in the storage unit 140 to control each unit ofthe display apparatus 100. The control unit 150 functions as a settingunit 151, a processing unit 152, a counting unit 153, and a generationunit 154 by executing the respective programs.

The setting unit 151 has a function of setting information regarding auser using the display apparatus 100. The setting unit 151 receives, forexample, an ID of a user or the user's name from an external apparatus(for example, personal computer (PC)) connected to the display apparatus100 in a wired or wireless manner, and stores information specifying auser to use the display apparatus 100 from now on in the storage unit140.

The processing unit 152 has a function of processing an image capturedby the imaging unit 130. The processing unit 152 extracts feature pointsfrom a captured image (for example, through edge detection, coloranalysis, or object analysis), and generates another image obtained byprocessing the captured image while leaving some of the feature points.For example, the processing unit 152 specifies a location (for example,a pathway) where the user 20 is walking from the captured image, doesnot process the pathway, and performs processing such that a wall of thepathway is distorted or a separate object is emerged from the wall.Alternatively, the processing unit 152 may generate a processed image inwhich the extent of processing increases as a distance from the user 20increases toward a depth side of the captured image, that is, in a depthdirection in terms of the user 20. The processing unit 152 processes acaptured image by using any one of a plurality of predefined processingprograms stored in the storage unit 140, or a plurality of programs. Theprocessing unit 152 processes the captured image in response to aninstruction from the generation unit 154, and delivers a processed imageto the generation unit 154.

The counting unit 153 specifies a position of the display apparatus 100in the entertainment facility 200 on the basis of position informationsequentially delivered from the position information acquisition unit120, and specifies a region including the position. The counting unit153 increments the number of times of passage for which the user 20wearing the display apparatus 100 has passed through the specifiedregion, stored in the number-of-times table 400, by 1. The counting unit153 does not perform increment for the same region until the user 20moves to another region after the number of times of passage for thecurrent region is incremented once.

The generation unit 154 has a function of generating a video to bedisplayed on the display unit 110. The generation unit 154 specifies thenumber of times for which the user 20 has passed through a regionspecified on the basis of the current position information of the user20 (the current position information of the display apparatus 100)acquired by the position information acquisition unit 120, by referringto the number-of-times table 400 stored in the storage unit 140. A videowhich corresponds to the specified number of times and has not beenpresented to the user 20 until now is specified or generated. This maybe realized by storing different pieces of video data corresponding tothe number of times for which the user has passed through a region, orinformation correlated with identification information identifying thevideo data in the storage unit 140. When display of a processed imagegenerated by the processing unit 152 is to be correlated in thiscorrelation, the generation unit 154 instructs the processing unit 152to process a captured image. The generation unit 154 displays agenerated video or a processed image generated by the processing unit152 on the display unit 110. The different pieces of video data may becompletely different pieces of video data, and may be partiallydifferent pieces of video data. Preferably, even a slightly differinglocation is present in a video.

A video generated by the control unit 150 and displayed on the displayunit 110 may be obtained by processing an image captured by the imagingunit 130, may be a video generated by the generation unit 154, may be avideo obtained by combining an image captured by the imaging unit 130with a video generated by the generation unit 154, and may be acombination thereof.

With the above-described configuration, the display apparatus 100 canprovide different videos whenever the user 20 passes through the sameregion. Therefore, the user 20 can have different experiences any numberof times while using the same entertainment facility 200, and can thusenjoy the entertainment facility 200 any number of times without gettingbored.

As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, the entertainment facility 200 isformed of a plurality of rooms. As illustrated in FIG. 3, theentertainment facility 200 is divided into a plurality of regions A toD, and the display apparatus 100 counts the number of times for whichthe user 20 has passed through each region. The user 20 wears thedisplay apparatus 100, and enters the entertainment facility 200 througha door 201. The user 20 walks in the region A in directions indicated byarrows 311 and 312 according to an image displayed on the displayapparatus 100. The user 20 enters the region B through a door 202. Theuser 20 passes through the region B, and enters the region C. The user20 enters the region D through a door 203. The user 20 returns to theregion A again through a door 204. The user 20 circulates the regions Ato D as indicated by an arrow 313. If the user 20 circulates apredetermined number of times (for example, four times), or apredetermined time (for example, ten minutes) elapses, an exit 205 isdisplayed on the display unit 110 of the display apparatus 100, and theuser 20 leaves the entertainment facility 200 as indicated by an arrow314. As mentioned above, the user 20 circulates the inside of theentertainment facility 200, and thus passes through the same region manytimes. Whenever the user passes, the display apparatus 100 presents avideo that has not been presented until then to the user 20. Therefore,the user 20 can view different videos even while passing through thesame region (a location or a place) many times, and thus it is possibleto provide the entertainment facility 200 enabling the user 20 not toget bored. With the configuration in which the same region iscirculated, the entertainment facility 200 can be configured relativelycompactly. Regarding a method of dividing the entertainment facility 200into regions, a manager managing the entertainment facility may dividethe entertainment facility according to any method. A shape of eachregion may not be a rectangular shape illustrated in FIG. 3, and may be,for example, an elliptical shape, or a shape corresponding to a shape ofa room.

Data

FIG. 4 is a data conceptual diagram illustrating a data configurationexample of the number-of-times table 400 stored in the storage unit 140.As illustrated in FIG. 4, the number-of-times table 400 is informationin which a user ID 401, a user name 402, and the number of times ofpassage 403 are correlated with each other.

The user ID 401 is correlated with each of a plurality of users usingthe display apparatus 100, and is identification information identifyinga user who can be uniquely specified.

The user name 402 is information indicating a name of a usercorresponding to the user ID 401.

The number of times of passage 403 is information indicating the numberof times for which the user corresponding to the user ID 401 and wearingthe display apparatus 100 has passed each of the plurality of regionsforming the entertainment facility 200. As described above, the numberof times of passage 403 is incremented by the counting unit 153 when acorresponding user satisfies conditions.

According to the number-of-times table 400 illustrated in FIG. 4, it canbe seen that a name of a user with a user ID “UI0093034” is “John,” thenumber of times of having passed through the region A is “eleven times,”the number of times of having passed through the region B is “eleventimes,” the number of times of having passed through the region C is“eleven times,” and the number of times of having passed through theregion D is “nine times.”

Since the number-of-times table 400 is provided, the display apparatus100 can specify the number of times for which a user has passed througheach region on the basis of a user ID or a user name of the user usingthe display apparatus 100, set for the display apparatus 100, and canalso increment the number of times for which the user has passed througheach region.

Operation

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the display apparatus100.

The setting unit 151 of the display apparatus 100 sets a user ID or auser name of a user to use the display apparatus 100 from now on in thestorage unit 140 in response to an instruction from an externalapparatus connected to the display apparatus 100 (step S501).

The user 20 wears the display apparatus 100, and starts to use theentertainment facility 200 (step S502). In other words, the user entersthe entertainment facility 200 through the door 201.

If the user 20 has entered the entertainment facility 200, the positioninformation acquisition unit 120 of the display apparatus 100sequentially acquires the current position information of the displayapparatus 100. The position information acquisition unit 120 deliversthe acquired current position information to the control unit 150 (stepS503).

The counting unit 153 of the control unit 150 specifies a region inwhich the user 20 wearing the display apparatus 100 is present on thebasis of the delivered current position information and rangeinformation of each region stored in the storage unit 140 (step S504).

The control unit 150 determines whether or not the region in which theuser is present is a new region (step S505). This determination isperformed on the basis of whether or not a region in which the user isspecified to be present previously is the same as a region in which theuser is specified to be present this time. When it is determined thatthe user has entered the new region (YES in step S505), the flowproceeds to step S506, and, when it is determined the user has notentered the new region (NO in step S505), the flow proceeds to stepS509.

The counting unit 153 updates the number-of-times table 400 stored inthe storage unit 140 by incrementing the number of times correspondingto the region specified in step S504 by 1 in correlation with the userID set in step S501 (step S506).

The generation unit 154 specifies the number of times of having passedthrough the region in which the user has stayed by referring to thenumber-of-times table 400 (step S507).

The control unit 150 displays the generated image on the display unit110 (step S508).

The control unit 150 of the display apparatus 100 determines whether ornot finishing input for the display apparatus 100 is received (stepS510). When the finishing input is received (YES in step S510), theprocess is finished, and when the finishing input is not received (NO instep S510), the flow returns to step S503.

In the above-described way, the display apparatus 100 can providedifferent videos to the user 20 whenever the user passes through thesame region. Therefore, it is possible to provide the entertainmentfacility 200 which enables the user 20 not to get bored.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a processing operation performed bythe processing unit 152.

The imaging unit 130 sequentially images the periphery, and deliverscaptured videos to the control unit 150 (step S601).

The processing unit 152 starts to generate a processed image in responseto an instruction from the generation unit 154. The processing unit 152analyzes the delivered videos to specify feature points thereof (stepS602).

The processing unit 152 processes a portion excluding a pathway alongwhich the user passes on the basis of the specified feature pointsaccording to the number of times of passing through a region to generatea processed image (step S603). The processing unit 152 delivers thegenerated processed image to the generation unit 154.

The generation unit 154 displays the delivered processed image on thedisplay unit 110 (step S604).

As mentioned above, the display apparatus 100 captures an image in adirection in which a user views, processes the captured image which isthen displayed, and can thus provide a video not boring the user 20.

Display Examples

FIG. 7 illustrates image examples displayed on the display apparatus100.

It is assumed that FIG. 7(a) illustrates, for example, an image of whenthe user 20 passes through the region B for the n-th time. Asillustrated in FIG. 7(a), it is assumed that an image in which a womanstands on a corridor and guides the user is displayed on the displayapparatus 100.

It is assumed that FIG. 7(b) illustrates an image of when the user 20passes through the region B for the (n+1)-th time. As illustrated inFIG. 7(b), the woman is alive for the n-th time, but a state in whichthe woman is a skeleton is displayed for the (n+1)-th time, and this canstartle the user 20.

As mentioned above, the display apparatus 100 provides different videoswhen a user passes through the same region. The examples illustrated inFIGS. 7(a) and 7(b) are only examples, and videos with variousexpressions may be provided to a user.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of processing a capturedimage in the processing unit 152 of the display apparatus 100. FIG. 8(a)illustrates an example of a captured image obtained by the imaging unit130, and the captured image is an example of an image captured by theimaging unit 130 of the display apparatus 100 mounted on the userpassing through the region B illustrated in FIG. 3.

In contrast, a processed image processed by the processing unit 152 isillustrated in FIG. 8(b). The processing unit 152 performs well-knownimage analysis on the captured image illustrated in FIG. 8(a) to extractfeature points. The pathway portion is specified on the basis of theextracted feature points. Processing is performed on locations otherthan the specified pathway portion by using the origin image. Forexample, the processing unit 152 specifies a person from the capturedimage, and performs processing such that the person is emerged from anoriginal place, or a wall or the like is distorted. In this case, asillustrated in FIG. 8(b), the extent of processing on the screen depthside may be heightened. The display apparatus 100 displays the processedimage as illustrated in FIG. 8(b). The user views the image asillustrated in FIG. 8(b), and can thus feel as if the user stayed in adifferent space. The image examples illustrated in FIG. 7 or 8 are onlyexamples.

Conclusion

As described above, the display apparatus 100 displays different videosaccording to the number of times for which a user has passed through apredetermined region. Therefore, amusement can be provided to the userevery time by using different videos, and thus it is possible to providean entertainment facility which the user can visit any number of times.

Example 2

In the above Example 1, some extent of facility is prepared in advanceas illustrated in FIG. 2, but this is only an example. In Example 2, adescription will be made of a method of obtaining the same effect as inExample 1 with a simpler facility. In Example 2, a description will alsobe made of a process in a case where a plurality of users enjoy anentertainment facility.

Configuration

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of an entertainment facility according tothis example. As illustrated in FIG. 9, only a predetermined space isprovided in the entertainment facility without preparing a wall or anitem. Surfaces (a wall surface, a floor surface, and a ceiling surface)of the predetermined space are formed of wallpaper or cloth with asingle color (for example, a blue back or a green back). The wallsurface, the floor surface, and the ceiling surface may be coated withpaint with a single color, and thus the predetermined space surroundedby the surfaces with the single color may be formed. The entertainmentfacility can be used by a plurality of users. Each user wears a headmounted display (HMD) as a display apparatus.

As illustrated in FIG. 10, the HMD includes two imaging units such as animaging unit 1000 and an imaging unit 1001 as the imaging unit 130. Theimaging unit 1000 and the imaging unit 1001 are cameras respectivelycorresponding to the right eye and the left eye of a user wearing thedisplay apparatus 100, and capture images in directed directions. Adistance between the imaging unit 1000 and the imaging unit 1001substantially corresponds to a sense between the eyes of the user.Consequently, an image captured by each of the imaging unit 1000 and theimaging unit 1001 is also used as a parallax image. The videos capturedby the imaging unit 1000 and the imaging unit 1001 are delivered to thecontrol unit 150.

In the predetermined space illustrated in FIG. 10, the positioninformation acquisition unit 120 acquires a position and a direction ofthe display apparatus 100 in the predetermined space, and the generationunit 154 of the control unit 150 generates a video corresponding to theposition and the direction, and displays the video on the display unit110.

In this case, the control unit 150 specifies an imaged object other thanthe wall surface, the floor surface, and the ceiling surface on thebasis of whether or not there are colors other than the single color ofthe peripheral surfaces in the videos acquired from the imaging unit 130(the imaging unit 1000 and the imaging unit 1001). When it is detectedthat an object other than the peripheral surfaces is imaged, theprocessing unit 152 of the control unit 150 processes a captured image(video) of the object to match the displayed video of the periphery, anddisplays the processed image on the display unit 110. For example, ifthe video of the periphery displayed on the display unit 110 appears tobe dark, processing is performed on the video of the imaged object suchthat the object appears to be present in a dark place, and the video isdisplayed.

For example, in the example illustrated in FIG. 9, the user 20 isincluded in an imaging range of the display apparatus 100 mounted on auser 21. Thus, the control unit 150 of the display apparatus 100 mountedon the user 21 performs processing on the user in a captured video suchthat the user 20 matches the video of the periphery, and displays thevideo on the display unit 110 of the display apparatus 100 mounted onthe user 21.

In this case, the processing unit 152 calculates a distance to theobject by using triangulation on the basis of a distance between theimaging unit 1000 and the imaging unit 1001, and a distance betweencorresponding pixels imaging the same object in captured videos obtainedby both of the imaging units. The video is processed such that theobject is displayed at the calculated distance.

Alternatively, processing may be performed in the same manner as whenthe display apparatus 100 mounted on the user 20 images the hands of theuser 20, and the hand or the like of the user 20 may be displayed alongwith the video of the periphery. As described above, a distance to anobject, that is, the hand of the user 20 can be calculated on the basisof a captured image, and thus it is possible to provide a video in whichanother object, for example, an insect crawls up the hand even if thehand of the user 20 is located at any position. As a video providedhere, the video as described in Example 1 may be used. In other words, auser can enjoy with other users while providing different videos foreach turn and also showing a video with a structure that the user loopsin the video.

Operation

Hereinafter, a description will be made of an operation of the displayapparatus 100 in Example 2. FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating anoperation of the display apparatus 100 according to Example 2.

As illustrated in FIG. 11, the position information acquisition unit 120acquires a position and a direction of the display apparatus 100 in theentertainment facility 200 (step S1101). This configuration may berealized by mounting, for example, a six-axis sensor or a nine-axissensor on the display apparatus 100.

The imaging unit 130 (imaging units 1000 and 1001) sequentially acquiresvideos in directions in which the imaging units are provided and aredirected (step S1102), and delivers the videos to the control unit 150.

The processing unit 152 of the control unit 150 determines whether ornot a color which is different from a background color of a capturedimage, that is, the above-described single color is included in thecaptured image (step S1103). When a color different from the backgroundcolor is included (YES in step S1103), the flow proceeds to a process instep S1104, and, if otherwise (NO in step S1103), the flow proceeds to aprocess in step S1106.

When a color different from a background color is included in thecaptured image, that is, when a certain object is imaged, the controlunit 150 calculates a distance to the imaged object (for example,another user or the body of the user) by using triangulation (stepS1104). The processing unit 152 processes the imaged object portionother than the background of the captured image to match a virtualvideo, combines the virtual video with a virtual video of the periphery,and displays the combined virtual video on the display unit 110 (stepS1105).

On the other hand, when there is no color which is different from thebackground color in the captured image, that is, when any object otherthan the background is not imaged by the imaging units 1000 and 1001,the control unit 150 displays a virtual video on the display unit 110(step S1106).

The control unit 150 determines whether or not finishing input isreceived from an operator of the entertainment facility (step S1107),finishes the process when there is the finishing input (YES in stepS1107), and returns to step S1101 when there is no finishing input (NOin step S1107).

Through the above-described process, in the display apparatus 100, evenif a plurality of users are present in a predetermined space, the userscan share the same space, and can recognize that all of the users arepresent in a virtual space or can view the hands or feet thereof.

Conclusion

According to a video providing system including the display apparatus100 according to Example 2, it is possible to provide a virtual realityspace in which videos variously change without preparing a large-scaledapparatus. It is possible to provide a virtual reality space which canbe simultaneously enjoyed by a plurality of users.

Appendixes

The apparatus according to the examples is not limited to thoseexamples, and may be implemented according to other techniques.Hereinafter, various modification examples will be described.

(1) In the above Example 1, the display apparatus 100 is implemented bya single apparatus, but is not limited thereto. The functions executedby the display apparatus 100 may be realized by other apparatuses. Forexample, as illustrated in FIG. 12, the functions may be realized by adisplay apparatus 900 and a management apparatus 910, having some of thefunctions of the display apparatus 100 described in the examples. Thisconfiguration will be described briefly.

In an entertainment system illustrated in FIG. 12, the display apparatus900 has a function of acquiring position information thereof, a functionof capturing videos of the periphery, and a function of displayingvideos, and the management apparatus 910 has a function of counting thenumber of times of having passed through a region and a function ofgenerating videos on the basis of the number of times, which arefunctions of the display apparatus 100 in the embodiments.

As illustrated in FIG. 12, the display apparatus 900 includes a displayunit 110, a position information acquisition unit 120, an imaging unit130, a storage unit 140, a control unit 150, and a communication unit170, and the functional units are connected to each other via a bus 160.The respective functional units of the display apparatus 900 are thesame as the functional units described in the examples, and thusdescription thereof will be omitted. The control unit 150 functions asthe setting unit 151, and does not function as a processing unit, acounting unit, and a generation unit other than that.

The communication unit 170 is a communication interface having afunction of performing communication with other apparatuses. Thecommunication unit 170 performs communication with the managementapparatus 910 via wireless communication. The communication unit 170 mayperform communication according to any communication protocol as long ascommunication with the management apparatus 910 can be performed. Thecommunication unit 170 transmits a captured video obtained by theimaging unit 130 or the current position information acquired by theposition information acquisition unit 120 to the management apparatus910. The communication unit 170 receives video data transmitted from themanagement apparatus 910. The video data received by the communicationunit 170 is displayed on the display unit 110.

On the other hand, the management apparatus 910 includes a communicationunit 920, a storage unit 940, and a control unit 950. The communicationunit 920, the storage unit 940, and the control unit 950 are connectedto each other via a bus 960.

The communication unit 920 is a communication interface having afunction of performing communication with other apparatuses. Thecommunication unit 920 performs communication with the display apparatus900 via wireless communication. The communication unit 920 may performcommunication according to any communication protocol as long ascommunication with the display apparatus 900 can be performed. Thecommunication unit 920 transmits video data delivered from the controlunit 950 to the display apparatus 900. The communication unit 920receives the current position information of the display apparatus 900or a captured video from the display apparatus 900, and delivers thecurrent position information or the captured video to the control unit950.

The storage unit 940 is a storage medium having a function of storingvarious program and data required for an operation of the managementapparatus 910. The storage unit 940 may be implemented by, for example,a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), or a flash memory.The storage unit 940 stores a number-of-times table 400 indicating thenumber of times for which a user has passed through each of a pluralityof regions forming the entertainment facility, information indicating apositional range of each region forming the entertainment facility 200and the like.

The control unit 950 is a processor having a function of executing thevarious programs stored in the storage unit 940 so as to control eachunit of the management apparatus 910. The control unit 950 functions asa processing unit 152, a counting unit 153, and a generation unit 154 byexecuting the respective programs. The processing unit 152, the countingunit 153, and the generation unit 154 are the same as those described inthe embodiments, and thus description thereof will be omitted.

With this configuration, the same effects as those in the configurationdescribed in the embodiment can also be achieved. Since the managementapparatus 910 has a function of generating a video, the displayapparatus 900 is not required to have high performance of a processor,and thus it is possible to provide the cheap display apparatus 900.Since video data is not required to be stored in the storage unit 140 ofthe display apparatus 900, and thus a storage capacity of the storageunit 140 can be reduced. This configuration is also effective to Example2.

(2) In the examples, a description has been made of an example in whichthe display apparatus 100 is used in the entertainment facility 200, buta place in which the display apparatus 100 is used is not limited to anentertainment facility. The display apparatus 100 may be used in a placein which a user passes through the same region many times even in otherfacilities or outdoor places.(3) In the example, the display apparatus 100 has a GPS function,specifies a position thereof, and uses the specified position asinformation source to count the number of times of having passed througha region, but a method of counting the number of times of having passedthrough a region is not limited thereto. The user 20 may wear thedisplay apparatus 100, and the number of times of having passed througheach region may be counted, and the method of counting the number oftimes of having passed through a region may be realized according toother configurations. For example, a beacon generator generating abeacon at the center of each region is provided in the entertainmentfacility 200. The beacon is transmitted with signal intensity with whichthe beacon reaches each region but does not reach other regions. Thebeacon includes information indicating a region in which the beacongenerator is placed. The display apparatus 100 has a communicationfunction, and recognizes a region in which the display apparatus ispresent by receiving the beacon, and the counting unit 153 counts thenumber of times for which the user 20 has passed through the region.

Alternatively, there may be a configuration in which a camera that canimage the entire region is provided in each region of the entertainmentfacility 200, image analysis is performed on an image captured by thecamera such that the user 20 wearing the display apparatus 100 isspecified, information indicating the specified user is transmitted tothe display apparatus 100, and the counting unit 153 counts the numberof times of having passed through each region. This configurationexample is more suitable for when the management apparatus 910 describedin the above appendix (1) performs counting than for a case where thedisplay apparatus 100 performs counting.

(4) In the examples, a description has been made of a configuration inwhich a user passes through the same region many times by circulatingthe entertainment facility 200, but this can realize a configuration ofproviding different videos according to the number of times of passageas described in the examples, for example, even when the same user usesan entertainment facility with a single straight path many times.(5) In the examples, the generation unit 154 generates a videocorresponding to the number of times for which the user 20 wearing thedisplay apparatus 100 has passed through a certain region and has notbeen presented to the user 20 until now. This is realized by correlatingdiffering piece of video data with each number of times of passage inthe above description, but this is only an example. For example, thismay be realized by changing a program for generating a video instead ofvideo data. When the display apparatus 100 has a configuration in whicha plurality of different pieces of video data are prepared as videodata, and one of the pieces of video data is selected at random, thesame effect can also be achieved, that is, different videos can beprovided to the user 20 whenever the user passes through the sameregion.(6) In the examples, as the entertainment facility 200, a descriptionhas been made of an example of the entertainment facility 200 in whichthe user 20 moves on foot, but the entertainment facility 200 is notlimited to a facility in which the user 20 moves on foot. Theentertainment facility 200 may be a facility in which the user 20 movesby vehicle. In this case, the processing unit 152 may perform processingsuch that a pathway is distorted.(7) In the examples, a description has been made of an example in whichthe single user 20 enjoys the entertainment facility 200, but the numberof people enjoying the entertainment facility 200 at a time is notlimited to one. A plurality of people may participate together, and, inthis case, when the imaging unit 130 images another user, the displayapparatus 100 may process a figure of the user and display the processedfigure.(8) The display apparatus 100 may have a communication function and, inthis case, may have a function of collecting video data held therein, ageneration program that generates videos, and a processing program thatgenerates videos, and generating a new video by using each of thecollected programs or video data.(9) In the examples, although particularly described, a user may hold acontroller for influencing a virtual video world. In this case, thecontroller may be provided with a sensor such that a position and adirection thereof in the entertainment facility 200 can be specified,and may influence a virtual video. For example, regarding the influence,a video may be processed such that the controller is regarded as aflashlight, and the flashlight illuminates the inside of a video worldbrightly according to a direction of the controller held by a user, anda video may be processed such that the controller is regarded as a gun,and, if the user pulls a trigger in a video world, shooting is performedin a direction in which the controller is directed. Here, a processingexample of a video using the controller is only an example, and otherprocessing may be performed, and the controller may be regarded as otherobjects.(10) In the examples, a method of providing different videos in thedisplay apparatus is realized by the processor of the display apparatusexecuting a video display program or the like, but may be realized by alogic circuit (hardware) or a dedicated circuit formed of an integratedcircuit (IC) or a large scale integration (LSI) of the apparatus. Such acircuit may be realized by one or a plurality of integrated circuits,and the functions of the plurality of functional units described in theexamples may be realized by a single integrated circuit. The LSI may becalled a VLSI a super LSI, and an ultra LSI depending on a difference inthe degree of integration. In other words, as illustrated in FIG. 13,the display apparatus 100 may be formed of a display circuit 110 a, aposition information acquisition circuit 120 a, an imaging circuit 130a, a storage circuit 140 a, and a control circuit 150 a, and a functionof each circuit is the same as that of each unit having the same name asthat described in the examples.

The video display program may be recorded on a recording medium readableby the processor and, as the recording medium, a “non-transitory media,”for example, a tape, a disc, a card, a semiconductor memory, and aprogrammable logic circuit may be used. The video display program may besupplied to the processor via any transmission medium (a communicationnetwork or a carrier) via which the video display program can betransmitted. My apparatus may be realized in the form of a data signalwhich is embodied through electronic transmission of the video displayprogram and is embedded in a carrier.

The video display program may be installed by using a script languagesuch as ActionScript or JavaScript (registered trademark), anobject-oriented programming language such as Objective-C or Java(registered trademark), and a markup language such as HTML5.

(11) The examples and the various modification examples described in theappendixes may be combined with each other as appropriate.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A video providing system comprising: apredetermined space surrounded by surfaces with a single color; a videodisplay apparatus mounted on the head of a user, and includes twoimaging devices disposed to be separated from each other by a gapcorresponding to both of human eyes and perform image capturing in afront direction of the user when the user wears the video displayapparatus; and a specifying device that specifies a position and adirection of the video display apparatus in the predetermined space,wherein the video display apparatus displays a video prepared in advanceat a location where the single color is imaged by the two imagingdevices, and displays a video based on videos captured by the twoimaging devices at a location where the single color is not imaged,according to a direction and a position in the predetermined space. 2.The video providing system according to claim 1, further comprising: acalculation unit that calculates a distance to an imaged object otherthan the single color on the basis of videos captured by the two imagingdevices; and a video generation unit that generates a stereoscopic videoaccording to the distance calculated by the calculation unit, whereinthe video display apparatus displays the stereoscopic video generated bythe video generation unit.
 3. The video providing system according toclaim 2, wherein the video generation unit generates a video in which adiffering object which is different from the object is superimposed onthe object on the basis of the distance calculated by the calculationunit.
 4. The video providing system according to claim 2, furthercomprising: a holding tool that applies an effect to a video displayedon the video display apparatus, and is held by a user, wherein the videogeneration unit generates a stereoscopic video to which the effect isapplied according to a position and a direction of the holding tool. 5.A video providing method of providing a video to a video displayapparatus mounted on the head of a user and used in a predeterminedspace surrounded by surfaces with a single color, and includes twoimaging devices disposed to be separated from each other by a gapcorresponding to both of human eyes and capture images in a frontdirection of the user when the user wears the video display apparatus,the method comprising: a specifying step of specifying a position and adirection of the video display apparatus in the predetermined space;imaging by performing image capturing in a front direction of the userwith the two imaging devices; and a display step of displaying a videoprepared in advance at a location where the single color is imaged bythe two imaging devices, and displaying a video based on videos capturedby the two imaging devices at a location where the single color is notimaged.
 6. A video providing program for a video providing systemproviding a video to a video display apparatus mounted on the head of auser and used in a predetermined space surrounded by surfaces with asingle color, and includes two imaging devices disposed to be separatedfrom each other by a gap corresponding to both of the human eyes andcapture images in a front direction of the user when the user wears thevideo display apparatus, the program causing a computer to realize: aspecifying function of specifying a position and a direction of thevideo display apparatus in the predetermined space; an imaging functionof performing image capturing in a front direction of the user with thetwo imaging devices; and a display function of displaying a videoprepared in advance at a location where the single color is imaged bythe two imaging devices, and displaying a video based on videos capturedby the two imaging devices at a location where the single color is notimaged.